


Four of Us - Settling in

by BoreasAnemos



Series: Evangelion: the Hangover + Four of Us [2]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Group Marriage, Multi, Polyamory, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-07-07 02:00:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoreasAnemos/pseuds/BoreasAnemos
Summary: This story continues the depiction of life of the happily married quad of Pilots that began with Strypgia's Hangover and continued in Four of Us - Coming Home





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter comes after Hangover's chapter 8.

Shinji woke up first, feeling a bit too hot for comfort. He glanced at the clock – 7:02 shone red in the shadows covering the room. Jet lag was still lingering, despite two nights and a day passing since their return. He felt groggy; if the clock was to be believed, he just woke from about six hours’ sleep. _‘I guess I should start thinking of breakfast… I can nap later.’_

The idea was by itself good and would certainly benefit everyone, but Shinji quickly realised that putting it into motion is going be harder than he realised. He was also tangled in at least four appendages, all of them belonging to people he would rather not wake. _‘This is going to be hard. And not the way anyone may like_ ’, the usual dirty joke came to him, reinforced by him becoming aware of his morning wood – or _breakfast in bed_ , as Asuka often quipped when accidentally poked. He began an attempt to wiggle out softly; fortunately, moving the bed last night left enough space to allow him departure above the footboard.

Of course, his efforts could not have gone unnoticed. The redhead he was trying to untangle himself from opened her eyes just a bit: “You not goin’ ‘nywhere…”, she mumbled out while pulling him closed. Shinji yelped, eliciting a reaction from behind him: he felt Rei pulling closer as well. _‘There goes my plan…’_ , he though as he grimly realised his new predicament. On the other hand, his fate was not exactly brutal: after all he was sandwiched between two most beautiful women he ever knew, with the most beautiful man he knew close by. A stray thought entered his mind: _‘I could get used to waking like that…’_

His reason intervened, though: _‘… but if every morning is going to be a struggle…’_ , he felt a hand, wandering across his body and clearly heading for his hip; he was not sure whether it was Rei’s or Kaworu’s – not that it mattered much: he would welcome either. _‘… or an opportunity for sex, we are going to be late to **a lot** of places. On the other hand, we’re still on vacation…’_

Despite those happy thoughts, his sense of obligation took over: he resumed his struggle to wiggle out. “Asuka”, he whispered. “Asuka – let me go, I need to make a breakfast.”

“Dunnot wanna. Warm. Cuddly. Mine”, she mumbled out, this time in slightly more coherent manner. It was a statement nearly impossible to argue with, but his brain, still on the verge of sleep but slowly booting up, gave him an idea.

“Two seconds after I leave, you will have a cuddly, naked Rei in your arms. And then, a breakfast made by me. How’s that?”, he whispered to her ear. Asuka pouted and seemed to have fallen back asleep, but after a moment she mumbled out: “G’d. B’t kiss first.”

He happily obliged, and after a moment, her grip lightened. Fortunately, Rei’s grasp did not tighten on his second escape attempt, finally allowing him to wiggle free and rise from the bed. The expected happened, of course: few second later, Asuka grabbed whatever grapple point was in front of her and pulled herself to tight embrace with Rei, who reacted equally predictably, tangling herself with the redhead. Kaworu, suddenly deprived of this body-pillow followed the heat trail and soon Rei was once more sandwiched between her loves. She did not seem to mind the change: she was generating clearly audible happy murmurs.

Part of Shinji’s head – actually, one-and-a-half of his heads – argued he could stay and keep watching this scene of serene marital bliss. Another part of him, the more responsible one, reminded him his was not the last time he sees that scene, and that he promised breakfast as his release condition. While the rational part was being outvoted, the stomach cast its vote by rumbling loudly. It was an argument hard to resist.

***

Quick shopping run and twenty minutes in the kitchen later, Shinji was humming to himself. Smell of food was slowly filling the apartment, and Shinji heard some rustling from the bedroom; somebody else left the bed. Shinji’s bet was on Kaworu – he was the least entangled one, after all. _‘That means that there are two gorgeous–‘_ , his mind started. _‘Nope. Don’t. Come back.’_ , more responsible part of his brain – clearly working overtime today – intervened once more. _‘Bad brain. I am no longer fifteen years old horny teenager, come on’_ , he chided himself, trying to turn his attention to the food.

 _‘Well, no, now I am twenty years old horny young adult’_ , he admitted with a resigned smile. _‘Not that it is going to be much of a problem now, with all of them at hand… Yesterday prove that beyond any doubt._ ’

Yesterday was a pleasant day by any standards. The day started with a rather… adventurous breakfast in bed, where food was just one of the things being eaten. Rest of it was spent lazing around, with various combination of him and his spouses vanishing in bedroom under any pretence… or staying in sight and providing incentive to assist. The furniture has certainly seen some creative use that day. Same happened to the dinner food. Having temporarily sated the hunger for each other, they spent the night in a warm afterglow, enjoying presence of each other – and merely nibbling from time to time. _‘I could really get used to that’_ , Shinji thought dreamily once more, smiling to himself.

Sudden pang of fear gripped his heart: _‘What if this is just that? Just a moment of afterglow, of giddiness from good time we shared in Vegas? What if this all falls apart in a week, a month?’_ He closed his eyes, feeling tears forming behind them.

 _‘No. Stop.’_ A thought struck him: _‘ **This** is **exactly** what went wrong before. I might not deserve them, I might never earn the right to such that happiness, but damned I’ll be if I ruin it once more. I promised… we all did.’_ His smile returned when he absentmindedly recalled the moment he said that fateful ‘yes’. _‘Never again. I belong to them, and I will make them happy. Took me five years, but I think I get it now.’_

Snapping back to reality, Shinji stirred the contents of the pot once more, reduced the flame, and went to get a book to pass the time before his loves joined him. He also wanted to take his mind off the pictures of all of them his imagination was showing.

When he was crossing the living room, his eye caught a gleam. Four rings, diamond on gold, clearly visible in the morning light; they had put them there, all of them, yesterday. Shinji was sure this was a coincidence – one of them put theirs in visible spot to find it easily the next day, and others followed without much thought. Still, there was something symbolic in this; he smiled again. _‘I’m going to get wrinkles from all this smiling. But I will not complain.’_

His reverie was interrupted by sound of bedroom door sliding and a pale form emerging from it, stretching and yawning. Shinji froze for a moment, glaring at the angelic body of his husband; his hair was in expected birds’ nest state, but in only reinforced the homeliness he suddenly found so attractive. “Errbue”, he managed to blurt out. _‘I was certain “hello” sounded differently’_ , he gathered. “Hebue” – repeated attempt at greeting felt only slightly less incorrect.

Kaworu blinked several times, adjusting his vision; “Oh, hello, Shinji”, he spoke in husky voice. “You’re up early; couldn’t sleep?”

“Hello”, Shinji managed to reboot his speech centre by shaking his head several times; forcing his glare up to focus on Kaworu’s face helped a lot, too. “I was a bit too warm for comfort, and I guess I slept enough”. _‘Eyes up here’_ , he reminded himself at the same time. “And you?”

Kaworu stretched again, and Shinji felt that stretch elsewhere. “Rested enough, and started to feel the call of the… well, you know how I am. This body, so well-engineered, can handle some things far better than yours Human Model Mark One, and others yours handle perfectly make it break”, he shrugged with wistful smile. “My back started to kill me and it’s either rise and walk it off or suffer for a day and beg for massages. Not that I would not get them from you” he winked, “but I prefer to get them for pleasure, not out of necessity. So, if you excuse me, I have a hot date with equally hot shower”, he motioned towards the closest bathroom, but stopped with his hand on the door handle – and his back to Shinji, reigniting the distraction. Turning his head, he asked with a smile: “Unless you want to keep me company there and actually take care of the budding issue with your hands of a musician?”

Shinji blushed. _‘There goes my “eyes up here”; alas, poor focus, I knew it, Horatio’_ , Shinji managed to think with his eyes glued to the perfect bottom that was no further than two meters from him. Kaworu has clearly noticed the stare: he shifted his position enough to flaunt his _‘assets, hurr durr…’_ , Shinji’s mind not-so-helpfully added.

“Coming or going?”, Kaworu grinned, seeing the stupefied face of his husband. _‘Seducing? Hardly. Teasing? Maybe. Having fun? Definitely.’_

Shinji shook himself out the stare. “G-gla-gladly, just let me stir the breakfast…”, he sprinted out to the kitchen. _‘I guess I will not be doing much reading in the next few days’_ , he thought, heading straight towards the bathroom after ensuring the food would not burn.

***

Asuka was snooping around. There has been a conspicuous lack of both Kaworu and Shinji everywhere, starting with the bed – where she lingered for a little bit more, due to seriously distracting Rei – the living room, where she found no trail of any of them, ending with the kitchen, where she only found a simmering pan and a working rice cooker.

She was about to head to the wardrobe – which doubled as Shinji’s room in times of their break-ups – but the sound of the running shower put her on the right track. She tiptoed towards the bathroom door and slid it open just enough to peek.

A hot blush crept up her chest and body, quickly spreading down her body.

 _‘Oh. Mein. Gott’_ , was all Asuka managed to think.

Technically, the scene before her eyes was a perfectly innocent one: Shinji was leaning on the shower wall, and Kaworu was scrubbing him with a sponge, slowly and intently, leaving reddened skin and traces of soap; the only spot he omitted in his vigorous attention was the fresh tattoo on Shinji’s chest. His own skin was already red, presumably from similar treatment a moment before; thought of how **that** might have looked made the blush hotter. _‘Cold shower, or a shower with a helpful hand, coming right in’_ was the only coherent thought that passed through her mind in that very moment.

A sudden touch of cold skin on her neck broke her focus; she jumped upright.

Shinji noticed a movement at the door but wrote it off as someone passing the door he forgot to close. Not that he cared much: the attention Kaworu was giving to his skin was… distracting. Captivating. Arousing. And, first and foremost, pleasant.

“Kaworu…”, he purred, stretching his neck.

“Enjoying yourself, dear husband?”, grey-haired man whispered in Shinji’s ear. “I sure hope… oh… I see you do”, he grinned, looking down. His idle hand followed his eyes; Shinji let out a long gasp, mixed with another, longer purr.

Outside, startled Asuka turned rapidly and found herself facing a very sly Rei. “Dear wife, did you leave me alone in bed in order to spy on our husbands?”, she asked with a smirk, putting one hand on Asuka’s waist, and the other on her neck. Asuka’s blush was now covering all her face, and her ears matched her hair pretty well.

“I’m not ‘spying’ at them or anything, I was worried none of them was around when I got up”, she mumbled out, her eyes looking to side. Rei just stared at Asuka, her red eyes expressing doubt and slight amusement, eyebrows rising.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Lying is a bad habit, my dear wife. Especially lying to people that trust you”, Rei replied, her small smile grew a miniscule bit.

Asuka looked at her with her own eyebrows rising: “Sure it is. But I was not lying. And even if, what are you going to do about it, _spank me?_ ”, she grumbled. _‘This came out a bit harsher than I intended. But she’ll understand. It’s morning’_ , Asuka decided.

Rei let her face assume a ponderous expression for a moment. “If you insisted, I would”, she returned to a small smile. Asuka shook her head rapidly, in near-shock. “Rei. It’s not even eight in the morning. And you’re already making your jokes”, she paused. “And I was not peeking, I was admiring! You should try that, they look… good. Marvellous, even”, Asuka’s eyes went dreamy for a moment, returning to reality few seconds later, her libido dampened by more basic needs of her body. “Will you let me go to the other bathroom and return to bed before my brain files a protest and makes me run?”, she requested in still hushed, but firmer tone.

“All right, my dear wife”, Rei smiled a bit more. “But I am not letting you get away without a kiss.”

Asuka rolled her eyes with mock exasperation and moved closer to fulfil the onerous release terms. Soon after, she was moving fast towards the smaller bathroom. In her hurry, she missed the sly smile the bluenette took up and the hungry stare that focused on Asuka’s bottom. “Jokes?”, Rei whispered to herself with a small lip bite and gleam in her eye.

When the subject of her admiration vanished behind the door of the second bathroom, she turned to peek through the door gap. After all, her moral objections towards Asuka were about her not admitting to spy – not the act itself.

Soon, Rei’s blush rivalled Asuka’s, and her lip bite became almost painful. Her hand wandered under her robe; it took considerable part of her willpower to remain silent and not to draw blood with her teeth.

***

Shinji was scrambling in the kitchen. Fortunately, due to his foresight, the breakfast was perfectly edible, but his soul of a chef was in pain over the fact it was more than slightly overcooked. He blamed himself, even if Kaworu – who was assisting him at the moment – disagreed. “Sorry! I shouldn’t have taken that much time”, he apologised for the third time.

“Kaworu…”, Shinji started.

“If this is going to be another of those ‘rubbing-on-you’ jokes, I swear, I **will** bite you”, Kaworu menacingly raised the butter knife from the cutlery he was distributing.

“… more than you already did?”, Shinji smiled wider than he usually did. That was a good morning.

Kaworu rolled his eyes, tried to stifle a smile, and continued to set the table. “You know what I mean.”

“And you know what I mean. Don’t worry about it, Kaworu. This is just a breakfast, and we got… a little bit carried away”, he smiled. “We must just suffer the consequences.”

“Can I have details?”, a voice from the door requested in a soft, yet inquisitive tone. Rei entered the kitchen, wearing her light robe. Besides that, she also wore one of her little smiles Shinji found so endearing – and a light blush he found unexpected, but certainly cute.

“Errrr good morning, Rei”, Shinji greeted her. “Details of what?”, he asked in confusion. Kaworu just nodded a greeting, trying not to escalate the smile to a giggle.

“Good morning, my husbands”, she greeted them in perfectly deadpan tone. “Details of the situation when you got ‘carried away’. It sounds like an interesting incident to be noted or even investigated, possibly in detail. The investigation may even require recreation at the scene, if deemed serious enough”, she explained in the same tone.

Shinji went a notch redder; Kaworu concealed his giggle with a cough. “We… took a shower”, Shinji explained. “It took longer than we anticipated.”

Rei touched her cheek, not letting her perfect poker face slip. “It is a curious thing. In theory, thinking logically, taking showers together should use less water and take less time than showering separately, mainly due to synergy”, she mused, aloud, ignoring strange looks given by both Shinji and Kaworu. “But in all instances – those I have heard of and those I participated in – joint showers took even longer than two people taking separate ones one after another. I regrettably have no data on water consumption.” The looks grew more intense. Rei was unperturbed.

“I believe I should conduct experiments in that area. It is possible that our wife has not yet taken her shower this morning. I should request her participation in the experiment”, Rei concluded with complete seriousness. Shinji was entirely focused on putting the food in the bowls, while Kaworu was trying his best to breathe normally.

“Rei… didn’t you shower this morning already?”, Kaworu pointed out.

“Yes, I have. I believe this does not invalidate the planned experiment. It is often that science requires a sacrifice on the part of the researcher. And showering with Asuka is a sacrifice I am willing to make.”

Last voice of the household sounded from the doorway, turning heads: “Did someone put my name and ‘sacrifice’ in one sentence?”

Asuka entered the kitchen, wearing a towel while finishing the process of wrapping her long hair in another. “Was it you, Rei?”

Asuka’s entrance stopped Shinji’s progress on serving breakfast in its tracks; not that he has not seen that image numerous times before, but now… well, now everything seemed new.

“Yes, it was me”, Rei replied in unperturbed voice, despite her eyes intently fixated on Asuka’s body. “And I believe the experiments will have to wait until tomorrow, in the light of the recent developments”, she stated with tinge of sadness in her voice. Shinji shook his head; surely, he only imagined the towel’s knot slowly unmaking on its own.

Asuka blinked several times in confusion. “Explain, before I start getting _ideas_ , and keep in mind that I am not exactly a ‘virgin sacrifice’ material. None of us is, not even Hikari after what happened in Vegas. Well, maybe Kensuke…”

“Asuka… he just got married, and I doubt they were big on ‘chastity before marriage’, despite Kyoko’s background”, Shinji protested the comment. “And even if, they just had their wedding night.”

“Well, I’m the one threatened with being sacrificed, so I’m looking for options!”, Asuka stated haughtily while taking place behind the table. She fixed the towel before it fell, eliciting a discreet look of dismay from Kaworu. “Don’t you remember? When we heard he finally started dating, we were convinced his date was a mythical being. Or a giant robot. Well, that changed, and for the better. Never mind him”, she shrugged. “Do explain. What is this about?”, she turned to Rei, who hastily refocused her eyes on Asuka’s face.

“Science. And I believe you will like it”, the bluenette answered with a mischievous gleam in her eye and a small, warm smile.

Asuka furrowed her brow: _‘This will be fun. Or kinky. Or kinky fun. When did Rei become such a minx?’_

She did not find an answer in that adorable smile, nor in those red eyes focused on her. But she did find a promise.

Suddenly, she felt somewhat hotter than her recent shower – or the dawning day – would warrant.


	2. Chapter 2

_A Saturday in August 2021_

“… and this is how I imagine it. Do you have any questions?” – Rei turned to her assembled spouses, displaying the large question mark as the last slide of her presentation.

“Rei, do you really think this is a good idea?” Shinji asked. The fact that Rei prepared a set of slides, made them sit down, provided tea and biscuits, and succeeded at capturing their attention for almost full twenty minutes spoke volumes of her determination and importance of the subject. Now, she was looking at them expectantly, scanning for reactions.

She sounded surprised by Shinji’s question. “Yes, dear husband”, Shinji blinked at that, “I would not present it to you otherwise”, she asked with hardly detectable confusion.

“And present you did”, murmured Kaworu. “How much time did you spend on preparing that?”

Rei’s eyes lit up. “Fourteen hours, give or take ten minutes. It was worth every moment.”

Asuka facepalmed. “This was something called ‘rhetorical question’, and you were not supposed… never mind. I can’t help to be impressed. I like it”, she added with a gleam in her eye.

Shinji noticed the gleam and started to worry. _‘Rei’s vision seems feasible if taken one step at a time, but if Asuka embraces the idea wholeheartedly, “one step at a time” will **not** be the approach they all would have to take.’_ “Rei…”, he said hesitantly. “This is a nice vision, and I think living like this would be like living in a dream” – he paused, considering his next words – “but the plan you presented would involve hiring several construction teams, replacing half of the furniture, busting two new doorframes, and actually **moving a** **wall**. Did you consider time and costs that it would take to achieve that goal?”

Rei’s face looked as if she was almost _hurt_ by that question, making Shinji wanting to apologise immediately. Before he managed to do so, though, Rei stopped him, hand raised. “Of course. If we want to avoid loans, it would take less than a half of our current savings, unless someone has a hidden stash or account I am not aware of” – she paused while her spouses exchanged quizzing looks. “If we take a preferential loan for young marriages” – Rei continued, while Kaworu snickered at that – “we can cut that in half and avoid liquidating any assets, but that would require full recognition of our legal status”, she elaborated. “I have the calculations, but they are insufficiently presentable at the moment”, she added after a short pause.

Shinji shook his head. “I’m… sorry, Rei. I shouldn’t have doubted that.”

Rei shook her head lightly. “It’s all right. I am aware this plan is… ambitious and may seem too much of a change. But I want us to truly live together – not just close-by. I am aware that we practically lived in your apartment for the last few months… but I believe it is time to share them all. This plan will not deprive us of private spaces, but it will give us a place to be together”, Rei finished, still looking each of them in the eyes in turn.

Shinji nodded. “As said, I like it. Describing it as ‘ambitious’ is correct, but I trust your calculations”, he smiled at Rei, who responded by lightening up a bit. “But if you don’t mind me asking”, he resumed, commanding her attention again, “you mentioned a house would be an option… why not aim for that directly? Surely it would be more costly, but would it not be cheaper in the long run?”

Rei nodded. “I did mention that indeed. And I intend to present an appropriate plan in about five to eight years, with its completion in six to ten years from now”, she replied in her usual deadpan done. Shinji blinked.

“That’s a… far-reaching plan. Why then?”

“For now, due to the post-War population boom, houses are expensive due to high demand”, Rei started, slipping into her professional demeanour. “Therefore, construction companies are racing to provide. In no more than ten years, this trend will reverse, due to the supply of housing outstripping the demand. The prices will then drop, allowing us – with our projected resources – to acquire a house well within our needs. Until then, the joined apartments will be more than sufficient”, she explained. “And once we move out of this place, it may be easily converted for a different purpose or may serve some of our friends or allies, should they require it.”

Shinji blinked again. “I’m sorry for doubting your plan, dear wife”, he bowed.

“I believe I can imagine an appropriate compensation you can provide for the slander of your doubt, dear husband, but we shall discuss it in the evening”, Rei replied with the smallest gleam in her eye. Shinji smiled at her; he did not even try to hide the blush. “Further questions, please?”

Kaworu rubbed his chin. “I assume this was not a mere accident that you gave the most attention to modelling the main bedroom and the living room?” he asked with a wry smile. Rei’s face turned a lovely shade of pink. “Could you show us those once more?” he requested.

Rei fiddled with her tablet for a moment, the projecting unit adjusted, and large 3D visualisation of a living room filled the wall. Two couches and three comfy chairs, with numerous pillows on them, beanbag pillows in a corner, and several cabinets with books were creating an impression of a space designed for maximum comfort for a number of people – and some space to spare. A TV set was placed in one of the corners, in a manner that allowed viewing it from a couch and some chairs, clearly designed for communal use; a spot place for gaming consoles was also included.

Kaworu looked at Shinji, and they nodded in agreement. Shinji took a look at Asuka, who still had this dangerous gleam in her eye. “And the other one, the bedroom?” Kaworu requested.

Equally large and detailed visualisation of a bedroom replaced the living room visualisation. Its centrepiece was, of course, a bed: a huge European-style, vintage-style bed with large bedposts; it was big enough for five people to sleep in. It was raised high, was heavy and wooden, with a headboard that included four independent lights and a shelf. _‘It looks like you could attach a canopy to this thing and the impression of luxury is complete_ ’, Asuka thought. The bed reminded her of things she saw in history books, labelled ‘royal bed of His Majesty the King’. _‘I liked that. Sleeping like a princess – or a queen… It sounds cheesy, but hey! Who said I can’t indulge? I already have a harem!’_ she smiled to herself.

Rest of the bedroom was about sliding-door closets – marked as clothing and laundry containers. The immensity of the bed left little space for anything else.

“Is there a reason why you decided on a Western-style bed? You still use a futon, after all”, Kaworu inquired.

“I do not mind using either. I remember you have no preference, either. Asuka clearly prefers European style bed, and Shinji became accustomed to it in recent years. I remember him complaining about a futon”, Rei explained.

Shinji shook his head, surprised. “Complaining? I don’t remember–”

“When our fourth date ended up at my place, and you woke up complaining about beds being more comfortable than futons”, Rei explained again, this time with a smirk. Shinji went red immediately.

“I think”, Asuka interceded with amusement in her voice, “that would be my cue to become mad, jealous, or madly jealous – and start yelling at you. And I would if I not for two things: in hindsight, you two **do** look cute together – not that I don’t prefer to have Rei for myself – or you for myself–”

“Asuka…” – Shinji and Rei cut in in unison, facepalming in almost sync. “… or you for myself”, she added, glancing at Kaworu, “you are welcome to kiss–”

“Asuka…” – this time it was Kaworu who facepalmed.

Asuka threw her hands up. “ **What?** I am going to squeeze all the best I can from this insanity I threw myself – and all of us – into, all right?” She paused for a moment, refocusing her eyes on the projection. “I like this. I like it all. I like the idea. I like the vision. We have the money, and aside from an occasional shopping spree or some trip, we don’t exactly spend much” – she paused again – “except for alcohol, all right. And if Rei says we can do it, it means we can!” she finished.

“And I would like to have that. A nest”, she added, almost in a whisper. She felt Shinji’s palm covering her own and faced him to find a warm smile and a nod. Shinji turned to Kaworu with a question in his eyes; the grey-haired man pondered for a moment and finally nodded. “It is both reasonable and feasible. It **will** be a pain to live here while the work is being done, but I believe it is worth it.”

Shinji turned to Rei. “I believe this closes the subject, or actually – opens it for realisation. Don’t you think?” turned to the others. Nods from Asuka and Kaworu answered his question. Rei, already wearing one of her beautiful small smiles, lightened up even more. “Thank you. Thank you all”, she bowed. She turned to her tablet and started closing the presentation, humming silently. Finally, she sat between Shinji and Kaworu and accepted a cup of tea from Shinji with a thanking nod.

“Soooo… that was the plan you did not want to explain on the plane due to ‘public decency law’, Rei?” Asuka asked after a moment of silence, somewhat confused. “Aside from the extravagance and grandeur… there’s nothing indecent about it.”

Rei blushed a tiny bit and shook her head. “No. It is a part of it, though.” She paused. “Do you trust me?” she asked out of the blue, looking each of her beloved in the eye in turn. All of them nodded, assuming serious expressions. She took a deep breath. “Do you think I am selfish?” she asked. The response took the form of three different faces: Asuka’s expressed incredulity and disbelief, Shinji’s – surprise and ‘does-not-compute’; Kaworu chose to stick to the familiar utter confusion.

Several heartbeats passed in silence before Asuka moved in the front of Rei and placed her hands on Rei’s shoulders. Locking eyes, she broke the silence. “Wondergirl. You **should** be, if anything. I mean… girl. Love. _Wife_. Don’t want to rank us here, but you’re on the bottom–” Asuka stopped due her own brain telling her something went wrong, Rei’s face assuming an incomprehensible expression, and both her husbands turning to look at her with question in their eyes – “backspace that, please”, she shook her head. “Don’t want to rank us here, but you’re the least selfish person here, or actually competing with Shinji for the top spot. Bottom spot. Never mind, you know what I mean.” Rei wanted to say something, but Asuka’s finger on her lips was something she could only obey.

“You are **not** selfish. If you think you are, knock this out of your beautiful head, and believe me, it would take **a lot** of egocentric acts for you to even **approach** levels where I would object”, Asuka finished, turning to Shinji and Kaworu. “Right, guys?”

Solemn nods answered her. “So, is it clear now? The answer is a big ‘no’”, Asuka proclaimed. Rei smiled a bit more and whispered, “Thank you”. Shinji’s expression changed to ponderous; _‘She is smiling **far** more than she was before. Like, I see that ‘I’m happy’ small smile every day now.’_ He certainly liked that change; his love for Rei was not a subject of doubt. Her happiness… well, that was the second most important thing to him, just after the happiness of Asuka’s. _‘I guess hearing that, Rei would object and say that I should place my own happiness above hers… another example of her selflessness’_ , he smiled at his thoughts.

His thoughts were interrupted by Asuka. “Rei, now that we explained that, will you explain what this is all about, and what your plan is?”

Rei placed a finger on her bottom lip, looking sideways in a mock I-am-thinking-about-that pose.

“I will not tell you”, she said in a teasing tone. “You will find it out yourselves”, she finished with a small, playful smile.

Asuka facepalmed, Shinji tilted his head with an expression of interest, and Kaworu retained the familiar confusion.

“I almost wish…”, Asuka started. “Never mind”, she shook her head, took a cookie, and returned to her spot next to Shinji. “When did you become such a minx, Wondergirl?”

Rei considered the question for a moment, then answered in perfect deadpan tone, yet with her eyes lit up with joy. “Minutes ago, when you all reassured me it is safe. Or days ago, when we got married. Or months ago, when we all finally made love together. Or years ago, when you helped me to discover how to feel. I shall leave it to you to decide when did you unleash that utterly horrifying side of me.”

Kaworu’s face did not change, and Shinji – who smiled at that statement – started to wonder whether their Angel’s mind was not short-circuited by the situation. Asuka facepalmed again. “Rei. I know you are joking, I just never know when.”

Rei had the expression of perfect innocence. “I’ll make some more tea”, she said, rising.

Asuka sighed. “Could we not simply open a bottle of wine? I’m **way** too sober for all this”, she requested in an exasperated tone.

 “Can we wait until dinner with wine? It’s still early, and I might need your help in the kitchen later. And I’d rather not have anyone intoxicated operating the knives”, Shinji protested in a worried tone.

“I will make a soothing infusion, then”, Rei chimed in from the room’s doorway.

Asuka just nodded and took a cookie.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note of caution: this chapter, while still fitting in Mature classification, is a little bit more explicit than the previous ones. It also contains acts of brutality towards vegetables. Caveat lector.

Discussion – this time, on the insistence of most, fuelled by tea instead of alcohol – turned towards matters both idle and serious. Rei and Kaworu started discussing a philosophy book of some Jesuit philosopher Shinji was unfamiliar with. He turned to Asuka, who seemed to have regained her wind and was writing down a list of things to buy for the living room. “You seemed to be rather… captivated by the project”, he started with a warm smile. Asuka nodded with a similar expression, one Shinji could only describe as _‘homely’_. “Why wouldn’t I be? It is… grand. That bed, it will be a great thing to sleep in something like that. Not to mention have sex in it.” She tilted her head. “Are you all right?” she asked, noticing Shinji’s accelerated breathing.

 _‘Now or never’_ , he thought before deciding to speak up. “I thought I would never hear **that** ”, he said, his smile slightly crooked, voice confident, with only the smallest hint of breaking. “You said you wanted to have a nest. I cannot believe **that**. Great Asuka Langley Soryu – sorry, Asuka Soryu-Ayanami–”

Kaworu stopped elaborating some finer problem that came from mixing philosophy with mysticism when he heard an unusual tone in Shinji’s voice; his eyes widened in terror when he realised what Shinji is going to say next, and what may happen in a moment. He also knew it was already too late to do anything about it. He just braced for impact.

“–domesticated. This is a sight to–”

Shinji was not able to finish the sentence. Asuka’s face, until now relaxed and smiling, went red and angry in half a second. Her yell, vehemently denying the claim and describing Shinji’s symptoms of domestication as far more obvious, was likely heard across half the city. Rei turned to face them and stared at the situation with surprise bordering on stupefaction; Kaworu seemed frozen.

Asuka was still yelling at Shinji when two thoughts crossed Rei’s mind: _‘Accusing Shinji of being domesticated is like accusing Japan of being an island’_ and _‘that was the worst burn Shinji ever directed towards Asuka in last few years’_. She ignored the former as irrelevant and focused on the latter. Ignoring the commotion that resulted from Shinji jumping up and starting to run, she calmly went through the components of the situation: _‘Shinji has no reasons to be angry at Asuka; this was not a counterattack, this was a jab. He is not a mean person; therefore, it is had to be a friendly jab or one with an ulterior motive. He clearly waited until my proposal was resolved as if he did not want to disrupt the moment.’_ Shinji was already in the doorframe, Asuka was scrambling to her feet, unintelligibly cursing the stiff condition her sitting position left her legs in.

 _‘It does look like an attempt to start a fight, but this is very unlike Shinji. The motive is unclear, but it should become apparent soon. Shinji never actively aggravated Asuka, all his aggressive actions towards her were in response to her own aggression and occurred only when they were fighting. Past data indicates that nearly a half of larger fights ended up in a break-up, and Shinji is aware of that better than anyone else, perhaps except me.’_ Rei reasoning was interrupted for a second by a near-literal fireball personified sprinting past her in a fierce chase after Shinji. She merely blinked at the wind created by the sudden movement and continued her analysis, unfazed. _‘Yet, he provoked her. This may indicate he is either no longer afraid of a break-up, considers it unlikely to occur – likely due to the matter of marriage – or has a plan that will turn this situation to his favour.”_

Rei’s reasoning was once more interrupted, this time by machine-gun-like stream German words – surprisingly, without any expletives – and a sound of a shattering ceramic. Apparently, the battle was joined in the kitchen.

 _‘Conclusion: Shinji has changed. He either started to take larger calculated risks or has become reckless. Both are equally likely; I lack data to confirm either. The underlying reason is uncertain, but it correlates with us getting married’_ , Rei finished the reasoning, taking note of the conclusion and turning to perplexed Kaworu. “Dear husband, do you think we should move to break the fight… or rescue either Shinji or Asuka?”, she asked in a calm tone, tinged with amusement.

Kaworu blinked, trying to recover from the shock caused by the sudden chaos. He might have been a seasoned warrior, an Evangelion Pilot, and an Angel, but the absurdity of the situation has put him off balance. He slowly turned his face to Rei and nodded, rising to his feet in an automaton-like movement.

Heading towards the kitchen, Rei noticed that after the loud crash that indicated loss of a kitchen utensil, the apartment went silent; cause for it became obvious once she entered the kitchen – and stopped in the doorframe, Kaworu bumping into her, unable to anticipate the sudden stop.

It was her turn to express mild shock and tilt her head. Kaworu peeked over her shoulder, his face turning to disbelief. After few long seconds, he noted in equally disbelieving voice: “Well. Right. Breaking them apart would require a crowbar or a bucket of water, and none of them seems to need rescuing”, he paused again. “Now, what does marital – or relationship – etiquette suggests we should do?”

Rei’s head tilted to the other side, her eyes still wide. “I have absolutely no idea”, she said slowly, in a tone expressing utter surprise.

***

Shinji sprang into the kitchen; from the sounds he heard from the living room, Asuka was few seconds behind him. He was not really sure what made him think this was a good idea, but for once he chose to trust his instincts. Of course, it could end badly – but if he was right…

He turned to face the door and braced himself against one of the kitchen table-tops. _‘Here comes Death, the destroyer of insolent husbands’_ , he thought wryly.

Asuka stormed in, predictably, three seconds later. She was, also predictably, fury personified: eyes wild, red hair trailing behind her, flushed face contorted in anger. He could only marvel at her beauty, even if his lizard brain wanted him to run **now**.

And, once more predictably, she went right into his face. “Ist das was du über mich denkst? Domestiziert? Ein Haushuhn? Du–” – she stopped, surprised by a big grin on Shinji’s face.

“Nein, Geliebte. Aber du bist so schön, wenn du wütend bist”, he answered with a glee and took a step towards her while she froze in utter confusion. His left hand reached for her neck and pulled her for a kiss while not-so-subtly pushing her towards the table. Asuka only managed to start a thought, _‘You little devious bastar-mmmm…”_ , when she felt the surprisingly strong hands grasping her bottom, lifting her, and placing her firmly on the kitchen table. She paid little attention to a cup that fell from the table. She was having too much fun to bother – especially when the same strong, firm, yet delicate hands slid under her t-shirt and she felt his nails on her bare skin, followed by nimble fingers unfastening her bra.

Asuka knew she should be angry. In fact, she was. More than just a bit. But most of the anger was actively melting at the sheer audacity of what her boyfriend – _husband_ – just did: he pressed just the right button to piss her off – royally so – and then…

Then he made it better. And kept making it better, with his every move.

And she loved it. Every moment of it. _‘Did he finally learn how to get under my skin, **properly**?’_ , she mused in between spikes of pleasure that were coming with increasing frequency. _‘I do-mmmm-hope so…’_.

Her battle-honed senses made her aware that they were not alone. Knowing it could only be her other lovers, she paid them no attention, except a stray thought: _‘Mmmm, audience’_.

***

Kaworu was standing still, perplexed. Actually, frozen still. It was, of course, not the first time he saw Asuka and Shinji make out; quite the opposite: he perfectly knew how that looked like, and he was often a participant. But he came in expecting to see a scene of a tense stare-off at best – as this happened often – and domestic violence at worst – which never happened, but considering what Shinji said, it was far from unthinkable.

He glanced sideways at Rei, hoping for counsel on what to do. ‘S _he did sound confused, but she surely knew better_ …’ he thought, only to notice that Rei’s face was flushed hard and she was biting her lip. _‘Am I on my own here?’_ , he started to panic. He looked back to the scene: Asuka’s shirt was already halfway up, Shinji’s pants were already undone… and Shinji was looking at them across Asuka’s shoulder, whispering something in her ear. He smiled at Kaworu, then turned his eyes to Rei – and his smile went wider. He whispered something again to Asuka’s ear, broke the eye contact and returned to placing kisses and soft bites on the redhead’s neck.

Kaworu took a deep breath. Apparently, no etiquette was going to help him here.

Rei just bit her lip harder.

***

“… and now, Schatz, she is looking at us too. Hungrily, I believe, her eyes wide. How does it make you feel?”, Shinji whispered in Asuka’s ear.

“Let… them”, she gasped right into his ear. “Let them watch."

Shinji just smiled in response and ran his hand down Asuka’s spine, eliciting a moan and a shiver. He paused, just to drink her vocal reaction – and enjoy the feeling of her nails driven deep into his flesh.

Rei and Kaworu watched the scene with unabating attention. There was an unusual ferocity in Shinji’s moves – the way he removed Asuka’s clothing, throwing it aside. In the way he marked her pale skin, ensuring no spot was unattended. In a way he finally lifted her hips and–

“Rei”, Kaworu managed to blurt out despite his dry throat, “should we not give them some privacy?”

“Nuh-uh”, Rei shook her head vigorously. “We were clearly invited, we have front-row seats, and we are not leaving before the finale”, she stated firmly, despite her voice shaking. “Or encore.” Rei’s eyes were glued to the lovemaking scene in front of her; she refused to even blink. Kaworu felt his right hand grasped in strong grip; the fact that Rei’s hand brushed a bulge in his pants on the way was probably an accident. Probably.

Rei’s mind, despite being captivated by the situation before her – Shinji just adjusted his and Asuka’s position, letting the audience to see the facial expressions clearly – did not yet drop its observe-and-analyse routine. This part of her brain wondered how this was different from all the previous time she was witnessing them having sex – but something was different. _‘First, this is happening in broad daylight and we are sober; factors that increase perception’_ , she noted. _‘Second, we were sure to encounter a fight here; human part of my nature reflexively primed this body for combat; now, this tension had to find an outlet’_ , she reasoned; they were not running here, and she had to unjam Kaworu first, but they came here worried – and now, she felt relief.

There were – most likely – more things to notice, but her brain just decided not to bother with them and chose to enjoy the show. Soon, Rei realised further observation and analysis had to wait; remnants of her focus was disrupted by Kaworu’s hand sliding under the waistband of her skirt. She purred lightly in response, welcoming the caress, only to bite down on her hand. Kaworu leaned to her ear. “Rei, darling… I don’t think anyone will hear you over Asuka… let it out”, he whispered. Rei obeyed; she turned her head to him, eyes wide; he took the opportunity to kiss her lips, his fingers assuming the tempo he knew she liked.

He was right in his actions, but wrong in his judgements. It took just a few short minutes of his ministrations, aided by Rei hungrily watching; she announced her release loud enough to turn Asuka’s and Shinji’s heads – which, of course, did not make them stop; if anything, it made Shinji just grin and speed up.

Kaworu did not stop, either; he just adjusted the angle and kept his magic working. While his social instincts were limited, he could see what was happening to Rei pretty well – and he knew stopping now would be simply cruel. This time, he was right – a moment later she got louder and tensed once more, resting against him few seconds later. She then took his hand, raised it to her lips, and kissed each of the fingers softly. For some reason, it made him breathe much faster.

In the meantime, the couple testing the resilience of the table was almost done; Asuka screamed loud enough to scandalise neighbours and locked her legs around Shinji’s waist. Not long after, he slumped in her iron grip, his breathing hard.

They turned their heads to the door and smiled at the events unfolding before them. Kaworu was leaning against the doorframe, partially undressed and given due attention by Rei with a subtlety that could only be described as ‘butterfly kisses’. His gasps were getting louder; he tried to say something, but his breath shortage did not allow him this luxury. Rei just smirked and looked up from her kneeling position. “My dear husband, you seem to be out of breath”, she said in a sweet voice and returned to her delicate ministrations. Kaworu gritted his teeth and moaned. “You can always try to make me… change… my approach… dear… husband”, she quipped between kisses, licks, and breaths.

He found himself unable to respond. A mere minute later – time that felt like an eternity to Kaworu, making him rethink everything he knew about relativity – he moaned loudly once more and tensed hard; several pants and groans later, he slumped against the doorframe.

Rei rose, smiling like a cat that just ate a whole lot of cream, her eyes gleaming, her face flushed. Kaworu, in turn, looked exhausted and wrung dry. “Rei…”, he managed weakly. “I asked before, and I will keep asking: where did you learn **that**?”

“The Internet, mostly. From listening to drunk Asuka’s instructions on sex, sometimes”, she replied in her usual soft tone, tinged with amusement. Asuka tried to express – possibly even verbalise – something in protest, but her attempt fell flat on seeing Rei’s smirk. “And increasing amount of practical exercise”, she added, walking up to Asuka and Shinji, giving them both a kiss in turn. “Thank you”, she said with a far softer smile. “I enjoyed your… performance.”

***

The dinner preparation was in full swing – actually, it would be more appropriate to call it _panic mode_. Everyone in the household was chipping in, each to the best of their ability. Asuka was given a task of chopping things – something she could do sitting. Kaworu and Rei worked out the rest under command of Shinji, who put everything together in the pans and pots and kept watch over them.

“Shinji, my beloved baka”, Asuka spoke up over the sound of knife hitting the board and subsequent vegetables quickly dissolving into small pieces, “not that I complain about the way you apologised for your horrific mistake, but why did you choose to make this mistake exactly on the day Misato and Kaji were supposed to come for dinner?”

“Because, my love, otherwise I would spend the night wondering whether it was a good idea and finally deciding it was not”, Shinji replied, while preventing one pot from overboiling and adding pieces of ginger to another. “And that would deprive you of pleasure, and Rei and Kaworu of… opportunity”, he added, turning to his content-yet-annoyed wife.

Asuka thought for a moment, not stopping the cutting motions. “Makes sense. But I’m sure you did it to make Misato laugh at me when she notices I’m a bit… wobbly. My brand of practical humour is rubbing off on you.”

Shinji presented a face of perfect innocence. “There is no way I would impose something like that on a prim and proper lady!”, he declared, eliciting a snicker from Kaworu, and raised eyebrows from Asuka.

“Are you implying something, Mr. Soryu-Ayanami?”, she glanced at him, threateningly. Kaworu quickly grabbed a whole carrot and bit down on it in a desperate attempt to stop himself from laughing. Rei, who was just preparing cutlery, cautioned him in her usual deadpan tone. “My dear husband, don’t give our wife ideas. Shinji’s well-being, operational capability, and compassion are vital to happiness and prosperity of this house.”

Asuka facepalmed hard. Shinji was doing his best to stifle his laughter.

A loud crunch was audible as a gunshot. _‘Poor carrot’_ was a thought that passed through Shinji’s mind half a second before he burst into helpless laughter.

***

“Wonderful cooking, as usual, Shin-chan”, Misato complimented in a cheerful voice.

“Thank you, Misato. But it was not only my doing, everyone helped to the best of their ability”, Shinji smiled at his spouses. Asuka discreetly hid her left hand under the table.

“Asuka, this is not something to be ashamed of”, Misato smiled. “Accidents happen, and no cook is without scars.”

“It would not have happened if everyone was focused on their work instead of making stupid jokes”, Asuka grumbled.

“There were not _stupid jokes_. There were only proper and correct assessments of the situation _at hand_ ”, Rei protested in a deadpan voice. Misato raised her eyebrow. “I am getting conflicting reports from the battlefield, guys. Care to explain, Shin-chan? Kaworu?  I guess you both would be objective on that matter.”

Shinji raised his hands. “I refuse to elaborate. Conflict of interest.”

Misato’s face took a quizzing look. “ **Now** you made me interested.” Kaji’s face was expressing something around _“you did yourself in, boy, good luck”_.

Kaworu intervened. “It was partially my fault. After all, it was me who bit down on the carrot.”

Kaji choked on the sip of wine he was just taking; Misato stared at Kaworu with horror. “I do sincerely hope this is **not** a euphemism.”

Kaji desperately fought to breathe; Misato’s remark did not improve his chances of survival. Misato ignored the flailing; this was not the first time he did this to himself.

Kaworu opened his mouth to explain, but Rei cut in: “I would explain from the beginning, but that would involve sharing a lot of detail I do not believe everyone might be comfortable revealing”, she said in a perfect monotone. “Before I continue, though, Kaji-san, do you require medical attention?”

Kaji waved his hands and shook his head. He managed to take a raspy breath and answered in a ragged voice. “No. No. No. Thank you. I’ll be fine”, he coughed for a moment. “If I don’t drink when **any** of you is talking.”

Rei nodded. “Good. The explanation I can provide is simple. Shinji performed a scientific experiment that resulted in notable stress inflicted on local infrastructure; that, in turn, resulted in delays in food preparation. The delays made us ignore certain safety protocols commonly observed in the kitchen. In connection with successful attempts at humour, those omissions caused the finger injuries of Asuka and first-degree burns of Kaworu; those have been since treated sufficiently”, she explained in the same tone. “Do you have any questions?”, she turned to their guests. The rest of the quad looked at Rei with various degree of awe.

Misato blinked several times. “This… is… a familiar style of report. Last time you used it, you misled me a noticeable bit.” Rei looked at her sheepishly but still smiled a small smile. “And it still does not explain the carrot”, she pointed out.

“Yes”, Rei agreed. “The carrot was used by Kaworu to reduce the threat of escalation at some point of the cooking. The attempt… failed… and the carrot was lost in a horrifyingly brutal manner”, the deadpan tone was back.

Misato’s face finally showed a dawn of realisation. “Rei. Are you screwing with me right now?”

“Commander Katsuragi, as much as I must admit that I do consider you an attractive woman”, Rei answered in her usual tone, making Misato blink in confusion, “this is not the case. First, I am happily married and completely faithful to my spouses. Second, the activity you suggest is solely Inspector’s Katsuragi job”, Rei finished, calmly taking a sip of wine.

Misato stared for a moment, then burst into laughter, Kaji following soon. Rei smiled again. _‘I suppose this attempt at humour could be filed as “successful”. Even if it included a very worn-out joke’_ , she noted.

“God, how did you change?” Misato smiled at Rei once the laughter calmed down. She looked at all the Pilots. “You all did, but this… when did that happen?”

“Gradually and right before our eyes, darling”, Kaji spoke up. “ _Our kids_ grew up and keep growing. Don’t stop, please. Just… eh. You’ll do fine”, he smiled at them.

Shinji looked at him with a question in his eyes. “Was it an advice you wanted to give us, Kaji-san? Please do, we don’t claim to know everything about life… well, most of us don’t”, he threw a side glance at Asuka. The only reply he got was a stuck-out tongue. Misato laughed softly at the immense maturity of the exchange.

“Eh… not much to say. I guess you figured it already. Talk. Don’t hold it back. Don’t ball your fists and keep silent. And first of all, don’t run away. That cost us” – he looked at Misato, who smiled a sad smile – “a lot, and learning from others’ mistakes is less painful than from your own. But you did that too, I believe”, he sighed. They responded in nods.

Asuka spoke up. “We did. Then I got wiser and my loves, for reasons unknown, chose not to reject me.” Three pairs of eyes looked at Asuka and three pairs of eyebrows rose. “What? After all that happened, all I did, you had every right to. By the way… I’ll have to catch Ritsuko and thank her for that… witch’s brew. It should be called Elixir of Courage, or something like that.”

Misato smiled again. “I believe she still calls it ‘Romulan Ale’ and classified, despite suggestions of marketing it as ‘Ritsukan Ale’. And frankly, I was supposed to tell her how well it worked, and I am a tiny bit afraid. She might start a ranking board: ‘weirdest thing someone did under influence of my invention’ – or worse, collect statistics: this number of public disorder incidents, this number of marriages, this number of started conspiracies…” Her face took more serious expression. “And Asuka… I know. You can’t believe how glad I am you – all of you – took that step. Still, if you need advice – my door is always open.” She sighed. “I know I had not been a role model, exactly… but I can tell you a thing or two”, she smiled.

 _‘I don’t think Misato could give advice on how to properly share time between three lovers…’_ , Asuka mused. Still, hearing that felt good. Misato has been growing more stable and far more dependable in last few years. _‘It’s almost like she’s maturing along with us’_ , she stifled a giggle.

“Believe me, ‘glad’ does not begin to describe it for me. And thank you”, she smiled.

Rei tilted her head. “I believe I have a question. How to arrange sharing attention, sex, and effort between partners so nobody is neglected?”

‘Shock’ was the term that would quite well describe the faces of everyone except Misato, who could best be described as ‘pondering’, and Rei, who could be described as ‘innocent’. “This is actually a very good question, Rei. A real issue.” Misato sounded serious. “But what makes you think I can answer it with anything better than literature references I am sure you already know of?”

Rei kept her deadpan voice. “I can answer that question here and now, Misato. But the question is, do you wish me to?”

Misato blinked several times. As usual, telling whether Rei’s words were serious or not was nearly impossible – and she did not want to take chances here. “No… I think not”, she answered. Rei smiled a bit. “So I thought.”

Misato shook her head. “I really must start spending more time with you. You change too fast, and I think I am missing out on that”, she smiled with a tinge of sadness, then shook her head. “Back to your question: you are aware there cannot be a simple answer to that? Just as there is no simple answer to ‘how to share your time between work, family, and hobbies’?”

Rei nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let’s stick to what my dear husband”, she glanced at still red-faced Ryouji, “has already said: talk, trust your instincts, and perhaps use a calendar.”

Rei nodded at that. “I see, thank you, Commander.”

“For more detailed advice… Well, I’ll have to think about that, all right? Let’s say I’m still not over the shock your little stunt caused”, she smiled warmly. “Not to mention the fact you found followers. We had Aida’s wedding cake at NERV yesterday.”

Shinji shook his head. “No, that was completely independent. He called us, bragging… and Asuka shot him down immediately with ‘I did better!’”, he grinned, so did Asuka.

Misato let out a small laugh. “I wonder who’s going to be next. There was no proper wedding reception, so no one had a chance to catch the bouquet. By the way, are you planning your own?”, she turned to her friends.

Four pairs of confused eyes met hers. They looked at each other in turns, headshakes and nods exchanged. Some eyebrows got raised, followed by more nods. Finally, Shinji spoke up. “Yes, but definitely not anytime soon. Perhaps for an anniversary.” The others nodded.

Misato blinked, then shut her eyes and raised her hands. “Now, this was something strange. Really strange. Have you pre-arranged that, suddenly developed telepathic skills, or are you just f-messing with me?”

Asuka and Shinji both laughed, and Rei smiled a small smile. Kaworu smiled in his usual, friendly manner before speaking up. “Trust me, Commander, there is no telepathy at play. We are simply… well, learning each other quite fast. Not that there is much to learn, we’ve been together for… well, most of our conscious lifetimes.” Nods and smiles from the rest of the Four followed. “And it is funny to see you confused.”

“Et tu, Brute?” exclaimed Misato with exasperation. Ryouji, wisely not trying to drink anything during the whole exchange, started to laugh in an equally wisely stifled manner. “I swear, I’m going to lose my sanity with you faster than I do with my dear Kaji”, she shot a threatening glance at her husband.

Rei spoke up in turn. “Commander, believe me, we are no threat to your mental composure. We are merely introducing the much-needed humour into your life. And yes, you are most welcome to spend more time with us. Your schedule permitting, of course. And should you find yourself with more work at your hands we could help with, we will be glad to assist you.”

Misato tilted her head slightly. “And now you’re speaking in riddles. You know what? You’re indeed all a blessing. Complacency kills in my line of work, and with you, it is **literally** impossible to become complacent”, she sighed. “And, Kaji, you should stop pushing it down so much. If you choke, I’ll not help you this time.”

“You didn’t help me last time, darling”, he managed between bouts of laughter.

“You’re a big boy, and a survivor”, she replied. “As we all are”, she sighed.

Shinji noticed the change of mood and raised the glass. “To Misato, may she not fall to madness, despite our efforts to turn her world upside-down!”

The toast was greeted with cheers. Misato just smiled and looked at her erstwhile charge with gratitude.

“Don’t worry, Misato. We’re with you”, Shinji smiled, and others followed.

Misato’s throat suddenly felt very tight.

“Excuse me”, she managed to blurt out before racing to the bathroom. Shinji shot a worried look at Ryouji, who shook his head. “She’ll be fine”, he said. “You’re closest she ever had to a proper family… and what you said just made her… well. Happy.”

Shinji nodded, and his smile returned. All seemed right with the world.


End file.
